Bacteriological and Physicochemical Quality of Drinking Water Sources and Household Water Handling Practice Among Rural Communities of Bona District, Sidama Zone-Zouthern, Ethiopia

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Abstract
Background: Water quality and the risk to waterborne diseases are critical public health concerns in many developing countries. Today, close to a billion people most living in the developing world do not have access to safe and adequate water supply. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the bacteriological and physicochemical quality of drinking water sources and water handling practices at household level among rural communities in Bona District of Sidama Zone. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was conducted to assess the bacteriological and physicochemical qualities of drinking water at source and to assess water handling practice of households. Data were collected using WHO’s sanitary survey checklist and rapid water testing kit to assess bacteriological and physicochemical parameters of water source and questionnaire to assess water handling practice of randomly selected 604 households. Results: Majority (86 %) of the protected springs and wells in the study area did not fulfill the WHO’s criteria for drinking water quality standards. Water schemes with high sanitary risk scores had high number of E. coli/100 ml of sample water. Majority (73.5%) of the respondents didn’t treat their water at household level, 64.4% of the respondents washed their hands before collecting water, 77.5% of the respondents washed their water container regularly and 74.7% had covered for their water collection container. Respondents who can read and write and those who completed at least a secondary education were more likely to safely handle water at home compared to illiterates, AOR=3.0 (95%CI: 1.5,6.04) and AOR=8.5 (95% CI:1.1,65.7), respectively. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that protected water sources used by the community in Bona District were subject to contamination and household water handling practices were poor. It is recommended that concerned bodies, such as NGO’s working in WASH projects, Bona district Water and Health Offices need to take appropriate action.